Hassan Whiteside won’t travel with Heat for upcoming three-game trip, as problems continue on defensive end without him

MIAMI — The Heat will have to continue to find ways to win games without starting center Hassan Whiteside.

Whiteside will not travel for the team’s upcoming three-game trip, which begins Wednesday in San Antonio against the Spurs, as he continues to recover from a bone bruise on his left knee. This means the earliest Whiteside can make his return will be when the Heat return home to face the Trail Blazers on Dec. 13.

“He’ll do a lot of treatment, a lot of conditioning and whatever corrective strength exercises he can do,” coach Erik Spoelstra said Tuesday when asked about the plan for Whiteside while the Heat are on the road.

Miami Heat’s Hassan Whiteside, center, Tyler Johnson (8) and Justise Winslow (20) watch during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets, Friday, Dec. 1, 2017, in Miami. The Heat won 105-100. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Whiteside has already missed the Heat’s past three games with the injury. Miami announced Thursday that its $98 million center would miss one to two weeks as he goes through a rehabilitation program for the bone bruise.

“Just wait until it’s totally healed,” said Whiteside, who missed five games in October with a different bone bruise on his left knee. “I think I kind of rushed it before, so just wait until I’m totally 100 percent. So I don’t want to come back and be a watered-down Hassan and people looking at you crazy like, ‘What’s wrong with Hassan? Why is he not playing at this level?’ or whatever. I don’t even want to risk that.”

The Heat are 3-5 without Whiteside this season.

According to the statistics, Miami misses the 7-footer most on the defensive end. The Heat have allowed 99.3 points per 100 possessions when Whiteside has been on the court this season, compared to 107.7 points per 100 possessions when he’s not playing.

Over the past three games without Whiteside, the Heat have posted the league’s third-worst defensive rating (114.9 points per 100 possessions) during this short stretch.

“Well, we have to,” Spoelstra said of how the Heat have to adjust defensively with Whiteside injured. “That’s the bottom line. Certainly Hassan brings a tremendous amount to our defense, even our philosophy of how we defend. But we’re better than what we have been and we simply have to be more committed to it. Hassan will not be with us this road trip, so we have enough principles, we have enough habits. Again, it’s that key word. It’s about doing it consistently.”

Rookie Bam Adebayo has started in place of Whiteside at center while he’s been out. Also, Kelly Olynyk is averaging 27.7 minutes of playing time during this three-game stretch, which is up from his season average of 19.9 minutes.